Why Does Atheism and Left-Wing Politics Usually Go Together?

[Darkstar]

Show me that communism doesn't punish success and reward laziness.

I can't?.......... communism was never reached

Show me that communism doesn't always result in a corrupt state that has total control over its citizens.

communism has never resulted in anything?.............. because it was never reached

True story: My history professor impersonated Karl Marx to explain commumism to us and to debate its merits. He used the same argument that you are using to discredit Soviet Russia as a 'true' communist state. 'Marx' said that humans would work hard without additional monetary incentives because we were not homo sapien (thinking man), but homo faber (making man). He argued that it was human nature to make things and that people would be motivated by just that.

However, I would call into question the validity of that assumption. In socialism it is, "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need". Communism is a more extreme version of this. The only thing that would motivate someone to work hard would be the nature of 'homo faber', or general goodwill. Hard work is not rewarded, and laziness is not punished. If the government has total control over the means of production, it has near-total control over the economy. In true communism, however, the government is supposed to just fade away. Not sure how that would work...